Winter bridge



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E. 'F'ONTAINE,

WINTER BRIDGE.

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E. 'FONTAINE. WINTER BRIDGE.

No. 508,929. PatentedNov. 21,;l8'93i I --lT11 rEnm1 EEHETIEEUiELiTLE,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EUGENE FONTAINE, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

WINTER BRIDGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 508,929, dated November21, 1 893. Application filed March 7, 1893. serialllo. 464.993- (Nomodel.) l

citizen of the United States,residingatDetroit,

in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Bridges for Crossing Maritime Highways in the\Vinter, of which the following is a specification, reference being hadtherein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention refers more particularly to the construction of what Icall a winter bridge, whereby I mean a bridge which can be read ilyplaced in position for use during the season of closed navigation. It isa well known fact that the conditions imposed by the vessel interestshave made itimpossible to cross many maritime highways by means ofbridges in the usual manner and as subaqueous tunnels are generallyconsidered only as a last resort, the parties most at interest, that isthe railroads resort to the use of car ferries as a means of crossingour maritime highways. This mode is in common use and it would be quitesatisfactory if it were not for the expense and delays caused byice inthe winter time.

The object of my invention is to provide a bridge for use in the wintertime that is during the season of closed navigation which generallyextends from the last of November to the last of April. Under thecircumstances pointed out, such a bridge must be removable to such anextent that it will form no obstruction to navigation during the openseason.

To this end my invention broadlystated vconsists of a permanentsubstructure sub- 'zontal members.

merged entirely below the water line at a depth sufficient for allvessels to pass over it, and of a temporary superstructure which can bereadily removed and replaced and which can be securely supported on thesubstructure,

For the substructure I use one or more horizontal members supported andsecured at suitable intervals upon fixed piers preferably bunches ofpiles. The superstructure I construct of trestles supported upon thesubstructure and hinged thereto, so that when not in use they may betipped over out of the way, and when in use they are held in position bysuitable connections with the hori- Upon these trestles I support thebridge way which is made complete in sections relnovablysecured inplace.

The construction-and arrangement of the parts aresuch as to facilitatethe putting up and taking down of the temporary parts of the bridge withcomparativelylittle expense and trouble and in the shortest space oftime, while the expense for the whole bridge requires only an outlay ofexpense commensurate with the advantages derived from its use.

As a detailed specification of a bridge built in accordance with myinvention would be of no practical use I will confine myself to acomprehensive description of the underlying principles involved in myinvention and I have illustrated the same in the accompanying drawings,in which Figure 1 is a diagram section of a portion of a bridge of myconstruction. Fig. 2 is a cross section through the horizontal memberthereof. Fig. 3 is a similar cross section showing one of the trestlesin elevation, and Fig. at is a side elevation of the trestles.

A represents the water course over which the bridge is to be built.

B represents one of the shore ends of the bridge, which are of anysuitable permanent construction and are preferably made to extend as faras is permissible so as to shorten the intervening gap which is tobeoccnpied by my winter bridge as much as possible.

The substructure of the winter bridge consists of piers O and horizontalmembers D supported thereon. The substructure is entirely submergedbelow the water line a sufficient distance for vessels of maximum draft.to pass over under all conditions of navigation. Where the bridge isacross flowing wat er it must be a skeleton structure'to prevent thewater from being dammed up andprevent the formation of bars. To this endwhere the conditions are favorable. I construct the piers of pilesdriven in bunches at intervals corresponding with the supports of thesuperstructure. Upon'these lsupport the horizontal members D which inthe drawings are represented by two lines of pipe se-v curely fastenedon top of the piers in any suitable manner, such as shown in thedrawings where a are shackles extending over the pipes and secured tocross bars b which are secured to the top of the piles. I deem the useof iron tubing for the horizontal members most suitable as they presentthe least engineeringdifficultiesin submerging them into position, ifthey are suitably bulk headed. These horizontal members should becontinuous, the whole length of the substructure parallel with eachother and cross tied together at suitable intervals. The superstructuresupported upon this substructure consists of the trestles E which are ofsuitable strength and formed according to the surrounding conditions. iThese trestles are hinged to the substructure and to this end Ipreferably form suitable trunnions F on the horizontal members andsuitable bearings on the legs of the trestles to engage therewith andform a hinge joint on which the trestles may be tipped over into thewater when the bridge is to be dismounted, the construction being suchthat the trestles when tipped over are supported upon the substructureout of the Way of passing vessels. The trestles E are formed of openframework and are tapered, being smaller at the top than at the bottom,so when the trestles are lowered the upper end of one will lie withinthe lower end of the other, thereby'affording the least amount ofobstruction to the current or passing vessels. When in position to formthe bridge, these trestles are then firmly secured by means of diagonalbraces or chains connecting them with the horizontal members.

- To this end I preferably use two chains G G,

for eachlegof the trestle. The chains G which are on the side towardwhich the trestles are to be tipped over may be permanently secured tothe trestles and to the horizontal members and are made of a suitablelength to be taut when the trestles are in vertical positions. Thechains G on the opposite sides are wound upon drums H on the trestlesand these drums are adapted to be operated by a worm gear through avertical shaft I which extends up to the top of the trestles, all soarranged that the chains may be wound or unwound from the drums asrequired either for the purpose of providing the slack required to tipthe trestles over, or to tighten them firmly so as to hold the trestlesfirmly in their operative position.

The bridge way is constructed in sections J each forming a complete spanreaching from the center of one trestle to the center of the nexttrestle. Each section is removably secured and suitable means areprovided for connecting the adjoining ends of the sections. In practicethis plan of building a bridge has peculiar advantages for the purposeit is intended for. The principal advantage is that a bridge of thischaracter can be built with a reasonable outlay of money while at thesame time it presents a sat sfactory compromise between conflictinginterests. It is especially adapted for crossing the straits connectingour northern chain of lakes and the crossing can be made at a grade.Here the greatest depth of water averages about forty feet and thecurrent 1s moderate so that it is not difficult to protect the bridge incase there is danger from moving ice. To this end ice breaking plersconstructed and operating on, the same plan as my bridge trestles may beplaced in advance of the bridge trestles,'but as such prov1s1on is not anecessary part of my inventlon I Will omit further reference thereto.

When the time arrives for putting the bridge in commission, the work canbe accomplished in a few days time and it Will be noted that myconstruction readily permits of doing the work without working in thewater, as the trestles can be readily raised from the standing end ofthe bridge. The sections of the bridgeway may be readily floated intoposition with the aid of suitable scows.

What I claim as my invention is 1. In a bridge of the characterdescribed, the combination with a permanent sub-structure, of a seriesof movable supports secured thereto, means connected on thesub-structure for retaining the supports in an upright position and asectional super-structure removably held on the supports, substantiallyas described.

2. In a bridge, the combination with a fixed sub-structure, of a seriesof supports movably connected and supported thereby, means for retainingthe supports in an upright position and a sectional road-way, removablysecured on the supports, substantially as described.

3. In a bridge of the character described, the combination with thehorizontal members of a substructure supported below the water line, ofthe trestles hinged thereto and the chains or cables G G provided withmeans for tightening the same, substantially as described.

4:. I11 a bridge, the combination with a fixed substructure, of supportsconsisting of tapering open frames pivoted to the structure, means forretaining the supports in an elevated position and a super-structure onthe supports, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof Iaffix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EUGENE FONTAINE.

Witnesses.-

M. B. ODOGHERTY, N. L. LINDOP.

IIO

